I report a thaw on the Italian-French front. There diplomatic crisis between the two countries, triggered by the words of a member of the French government who defined Salvini's position on the Aquarius ship as "repulsive", was resolved with the phone call during the night between President Macron and Prime Minister Conte was described as "cordial" by the French Minister of European Affairs, Nathalie Loiseau. And so, the visit of the Italian premier scheduled for Friday to Paris, which seemed to be about to skip, was confirmed: Conte will therefore meet Macron at the Elysée and it will be the first official visit to a foreign head of government, after the collective meeting at the G7 last week in Canada. “The case is closed, but now we have to work on reforming the Dublin regulations,” Conte said this morning. "Never made statements with the aim of offending the Italian people", Macron echoed him.
The anti-French front, opened by the Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini who, reporting to the Senate, demanded an apology from Paris, had found in the last few hours the rather energetic support of other members of the Government and also of the Quirinale. “I hope President Macron apologizes, there is still time. But until an apology arrives we cannot back down,” said Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio of the Movimento 5 Stelle in an interview with radio Rtl 102.5. President Mattarella was on the same wavelength, while Chancellor Angela Merkel herself had tried to throw water on the fire, implying that she understood Italy's positions: "Due to its geographical position, Italy is exposed to a large number of refugees and of migrants – he said through his spokesman – no country should be left alone with this task. This is why we support Italy, and we consider it an important partner in the search for a European solution”.
The same French minister Loiseau, in commenting on the phone call between Macron and Conte, had previously hoped to find a solution to the conflict: "The president and Giuseppe Conte met briefly at the G7 in Canada, it would be interesting and useful if they met more closely long. Europe must do more and better to help Italy. We need to talk to Italy, it's a great partner, a great neighbor”.
